The assembly of the present invention is particularly useful in connection with certain forms of drying ovens, although it is also useful in many other areas. Such drying ovens are usually of the tunnel type and the articles to be dried (often plywood sheets) are passed therethrough on rollers. Each roller requires a minimum of two bearings and, due to the high temperatures employed, these bearings must be able to withstand such temperatures for substantial periods of time without failing. Since these ovens are quite long (some exceed 300 feet), there are a large number of transverse rollers and, consequently, at least double that number of bearings supporting them.
Should any substantial number of bearings fail, the plywood sheets could no longer be moved through the oven and the entire operation comes to a complete halt. Obviously, this is extremely serious and the economic losses are substantial.
When this happens, it is imperative that the necessary bearing replacement take place as quickly as possible. Usually, substantially all of the bearings are replaced at the same time, in order to prevent a subsequent failure shortly after the bearings have been changed and to thereby minimize down time.
Due to the high temperatures referred to above, it is necessary to allow the oven to cool down to a point at which workmen can handle the bearings. In order to minimize this time, the crew used to effect the change wears asbestos gloves and other similar protective clothing. This enables them to get started on the job while the equipment is still fairly hot.